Monday, I attended the Clover Park School Board Meeting for the controversial vote on Diversity & Equity. There were a great number of community comments, which were overwhelmingly weighted with input from current and past educators. Not surprisingly, the measure passed with a 4-1 vote. After the meeting I attempted to speak with board member Carole Jacobs and before I could even finish my question she interrupted, twice. The second time she interrupted was when I referenced a statement, in my question, made by Superintendent Banner during his remarks at the meeting. She stated my reference was not accurate and called him over to explain. Twice during my attempt to speak with her she stepped away once to sign a document and a second time to leave. As she left she stated “I thought he could answer your question better and I have not seen my husband all day.” Well Carole the question was for you as the elected leader and guess what? I had not seen my wife all day and yet I was there seeking clarification from you as an elected official. Also, if you thought Mr. Banner would be able to answer my question better then why didn’t you stick around to see what his answer was so next time someone asked a similar question you could provide the most accurate answer?
As we spoke, Superintendent Banner and myself, both of us acknowledge while we may not see eye to eye it is good to listen and get the perspective of others. More than once Mr. Banner has been the last to leave a meeting as he and I have stayed to discuss different questions I ask. Monday Night night was no different, as all of the board members who attended in person were gone within minutes. Why do they leave the heavy lifting for Superintendent Banner? As the elected officials, in my opinion, it is their job to answer questions and ultimately be accountable. Carole you have been on the board the longest so you are most responsible for state of The District. I know there was a recent article about the Clover Park School Board: Leading from Behind https://thesubtimes.com/2021/09/12/letter-clover-park-school-board-leading-from-behind-with-predictable-results/ and I can’t think of a better example.
Mr. Banner I appreciate your dedication and I wish the Board had the same level as you display. When elected part of what officials sign up for is long days and Carole I am just guessing here but I expect Mr. Banner had not seen his family all day either.
This totally supports my belief that we DO need newly elected officials this November and if Carole Jacobs runs again she too needs to be quickly voted out as she DOES NOT have the District at the best interested of the community as evidenced by her above noted lack of interest in answers and the behavior of walking away.
This letter seems to be right on target. People get elected and then do not do the work they have signed up for. Also ask yourself this question how many times have you had a conversation with someone who won’t even let you finish your question. The individual interrupts you even before you can ask your question or state your point of view. Bad on you Carole.
I really don’t want to respond to this but I feel at this time I must. I actually left the board room to use the restroom but I didn’t feel that I should have to share such personal information with anyone.
Mr Hills was asking how we would budget for cost and how we would shift funds to implement the newly passed equity policy.
I asked superintendent Banner to address the question since he and his council would be responsible to establish the budget before it is presented to the board. I did return to the board room and when I did I saw that they were still having their conversation and I departed for home.
I was not avoiding anyone nor was I asked if we could talk. I was just asked a question without consideration of my time. I always have and always will try to make myself available to share my opinions, thoughts and plans for the Clover Park School District.
Carole – You most indeed were asked if we could talk “Carole can I ask you a question” is how it started and isn’t that the way conversation initiated? If you didn’t feel you had time you could have easily asked to set a different time. Did you do that? You in fact DID state you had to use the restroom which I totally get and your next comment to me was? “I have not seen my husband all day” AND… that was not my question at all as you never let me fully ask my question since you interrupted twice and then called over Mr. Banner before I even got my question out. After you brought him over you never re-engaged in the conversation again other than to excuse yourself to go home. You are painting a picture that did not happen only to protect yourself which is shameful. I am disappointed in you and expect more. If this is what you give to the District and “your kids” as you like to call them then it is no wonder CPSD is in the poor state that it is with significantly below acceptable test scores. Maybe this is what you blame the low test scores on the “transitional military and low income students” again?? You have just proven to me that you can never be trusted if you are not going to provide truthful submissions.
KM HILLS,
Good grief. You have no comment about the one school board member, Paul Wagemann, who fails to show up in person to the board meetings? Was he putting in the extra time you demand of others? I had several questions I wanted to ask him in person, but he was no where in the building. He was not in the building at the August meeting either. Haven’t you noticed? Of course you have, but you have political reasons to ignore his absence and attack others.
I assume you also believe that teachers could not possibly be parents of students in this district? I heard two speakers clearly state that they were teachers and had their child in this district. Were you listening? Were you listening when our Lakewood City Council firmly endorsed the Equity Plan? Their statement was comprehensive and recognized that it was essential to address our diverse population of families and students. Were you listening when our military commander at JBLM strongly endorsed the Equity Plan? That was a powerful letter which was read for all to hear. It wasn’t what you wanted hear.
If someone wants to talk to me about what another person in the room said, I think it wise to call over the person who actually made the comment. It would be the ethical thing to do. Why did you not ask Mr Banner in the first place? He was right there.
One last point. Do you actually believe the school board members don’t put in time other than at school board meetings? How clueless and uninformed can you be? You are a big David Anderson and Jeff Brown supporter and you have a clear agenda to trash every board member except the one who fails to face the public in person at meetings and phones in his comments from home. If he can’t do the job due to illness or fear of questions, he needs to resign or be voted out next election cycle.
Did you inquire as to the whereabouts of Director Wageman?
Mr. Anderson,
Why doesn’t he explain it himself? Why should anyone need to ask other board members? Fact: He is not available at the board meetings so citizens are unable to ask him questions following the meeting.
He was there, just not in person. In August he was in Canada, but checked in on Zoom then left that meeting to attend to WSSDA responsibilities, also virtual. This past Monday he was present as well, even though in Tennesee. After attending the entirety of the two-hour meeting, in which he provided his input, two nights later he attended, again virtually, the meeting of the Lakewood Planning Advisory meeting, still while in Tennessee. All of which meant he was, with the time difference, up past midnight to give his due diligence to his elected and appointed responibilities.
Mr. Anderson,
I will repeat. Mr. Wagemann has not physically been at the last two school board meetings so citizens are unable to ask him questions following the meeting.
After his statement Monday night that the adopted Equity Plan was a Marxist conspiracy and that giving anything extra to students in need took away from others, I had several questions for him. My child needs some extra and Mr. Wagemann doesn’t seem to understand what diversity, equity and inclusion mean.
Carole Jacobs most school board members of any district take care of their restroom needs before the meeting starts, why use your husband as an excuse to vacate mid question and hide in the restroom stalls? You clearly are afraid to confront your constituents by dumping all questions onto the Superintendent, so it is time for you to leave and make room for new blood to run the school board.
Cheri Arkell not all teachers are good parents trust me been there done that with 2 of my children with sour teachers with seriously bad attitudes, so that statement is moot.
Further you challenge Paul Wagemann’s attendance only to deflect the subject matter of the controversial vote on Diversity & Equity. How many parents are pulling their kids out of CPSD to a safe a sane district? If parents would parent at home and keep the stupid TV turned off so kids could be productive instead of listening to trash, we would not have any diversity, The little diversity we do have is due to lack of parenting and thus the vote is to babysit those kids & teach them nonsense versus teaching them the basics in math, reading, writing including script writing and original (not altered) history that is needed to achieve a good living and have good camaraderie with other co-workers when they graduate.
Kellie
Cheri Arkell-
I have not attacked anyone only provided the truth. Also, I did not call out any of the other board members by name nor express any support of any candidate. I did not make any mention to Diversity & Equity other than it passed and that most of the comments came from current and passed educators. If you read my initial letter it stated that “I referenced a statement, in my question” which was an integral part of the question but not the question itself. Also, as I mentioned she interrupted twice and called him over before I could finish asking my question. I did eventually ask Mr. Banner the question which I hoped to pose to Carole so again I am grateful to Mr. Banner for taking the time to talk as I strongly believe Carole should have done, or set a time time when she could have been available. I will point out that while I have not attacked anyone in my letter you sure seem to be very accusatory towards me and made a great deal of assumptions. Thanks for being a part of the conversation.
KM Hills,
The inferences in your letter were not subtle. You have little respect for the opinions of educators.
The “truth” is that you are telling your story about Mrs. Jacobs. Do I have to believe it? Should people be skeptical after hearing all of the ugly personal attacks on our school board and administration coming from those associated with David Anderson and Jeff Brown’s campaigns?
Like was stated at the meeting by a speaker, the Clover Park School Board has been recognized as a Board of Distinction 3 times in the last 4 years. In 2019-20 they were the School Board of the Year in our state for large districts. Marty Schafer and Carole Jacobs were on the job and taking care of business; I trust the majority of our board members to do what is right for my child.
Cheri Arkell-
“Board of Distinction 3 times in the last 4 years” and yet they continue to produce a product that is failing our community; as evidenced by test scores. Without a firm grasp on the basics these students are not going to succeed the next 50+ years of their lives. Our community needs and deserves better; as do the students, I heard at the meeting “the student population consists of a minority majority” which to me means the racial make up in the classroom is less than 50 % Caucasian, yet this Diversity & Equity program was just passed. Are you tying to tell me that we needed this Diversity & Equity program so the teachers will begin to teach a majority of the students and until now they have been ignoring/shorting the majority racial make up in their classrooms? I also hear consistently that CPSD is a low income school district and a majority of students qualify for the reduced lunch program. So have the teachers also been ignoring the lower socioeconomic students? If you answer “YES” then who remains in the classroom and which students are being taught by our teachers?
KM Hills,
Thank You! You seem to understand that the Equity Plan is needed to help ALL students reach the intended outcome. Teaching a diverse population of students is not easy and requires attention to the individual needs of students. Awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion has to be made a focus in order to address the needs of our students in this district. Only 39% of the Kindergarten students in our district enter ready for school as measured by 6 areas of readiness. We have one of the highest percentages of special needs students in the state. Hispanic students are now our largest demographic. We must recalibrate what we are doing to better support ALL of our students reach the intended outcome…graduating ready to be independent and able to pursue their chosen paths. I personally want this Equity Plan to address the vocational training for students who do not wish to go to college. That is what the Equity Plan is intended to do; to better identify what is needed and to respond to individuals. This informs instruction.
Mr. Anderson,
Why doesn’t he explain it himself? Why should anyone need to ask other board members? Fact: He is not available at the board meetings so citizens are unable to ask him questions following the meeting.
You can reach School Board Director Wagemann at wagemanp@cloverpark.k12.wa.us.
Mr. Anderson,
No, my questions to Mr. Wagemann about his comments will be in person; at a board meeting.